UPDATE:  Deadline reached for entry submission.  Entries will be posted soon for viewing.  Voting will start later this week / early next.

Create a short Dungeon and Dragons encounter.  The encounter should include all the details necessary for any DM to use at the game table.  There’s one catch, stat blocks and any D&D rules should be left out to be added later once the 4e rules are released. 

For example, you could create an encounter involving a bridge with a troll guarding each end, preventing all from passing without paying a toll.  You should include concepts behind the trolls motivations and why the bridge is there, but not include the stats for the trolls specifically.

You may want to include an original magic item or effect as well.  If you do, be sure to describe it’s general effects and avoid any rules.  For example, you could describe a ring of regeneration as “provides an increase in health on a periodic basis”.

Rules

1) Create an encounter 1-3 pages in length.  There’s no real limit to the length per se, but it should qualify as a single encounter.
2) You may include maps, pictures, or other original works that are relevant.  This is optional.
3) All works must be original and created by you.  This includes text, artwork, images, drawings, maps, etc.  No exceptions.
4) Any number of individuals may enter as a team, but prizes will be sent only to a team leader.  It the responsibility of the team leader (the submitter) to divide the prize.
5) You may enter more than once, but can only receive ONE prize.  Entering more than once may yield a higher odds of winning, but cannot increase your actual winnings to more than a single place price. In other words, if you submit three entries and they end up being the first, second, and third place position, you will only be awarded the 1st place prize.  The other prizes will be awarded to the next places, according to the number of votes.
5) Be creative!  Think outside the box and dazzle us with your impressive BBEG!
6) The contest is open to anyone that enjoys D&D!

Submitting

1) Your contest entry should be in PDF format if at all possible.  You can get a free PDF maker here: http://www.primopdf.com/ If you cannot make a PDF, then plain text, or simple rich text document should be fine.  Avoid proprietary formats like Word, Pages, etc.
2) If you have more than one file, feel free to zip it.  You can get a free compression tool here: http://www.7-zip.org/
3) Email your entry to jim at dragonavenue dot com - be sure to include your member name. I will reply to let you know I’ve received your entry.
4) All entries must be received by March 2nd, 2008, Pacific Time (GMT -8).

Voting

- The community (that’s you) will judge the entries and vote for their favorite. 
- Voting will commence shortly after the March 2nd deadline and will end on or about March 15th.
- Voting method will be online either by reply or poll (depending on the number of entries).
- You may vote for your own entry (or not).

Prizes

- First place (most votes) will receive a $125 gift certificate to Amazon.com
- Second place will receive a $75 gift certificate to Amazon.com
- Third place will receive a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com

Prizes will be awarded no later than one week after the contests ends (roughly the end of March - plenty of time to pre-order the 4e books!)

FAQ

- Do I need to be a member?
No, but you won’t be able to vote unless you are.

Fine Print

This contest is for fun and enjoyment of the community.  Anything that wasn’t in the rules, isn’t clear, or results in a dispute of any kind will be resolved by the Dragon Avenue moderators and admins.  By entering this contest you agree to abide by the rules of this contest as well as the rules of the Dragon Avenue community.

Contestants are not eligible to vote (since 90% of your will vote for yourselves).

Here are the categories you should consider before voting.
- Creativity (how original is the encounter?)
- Adaptability (will the rules and stats plug in easily?)
- Fun (will the encounter be fun to play at the game table?)
- Presentation (layout, readability, etc)
- Quality (did the author put forth some effort or is it just slapped together?)

Send your votes to jim at dragonavenue dot com with the word “DA-Vote” in the subject line.

When most parties rst start out, they’re sphere of influence is limited to their local village and the land around it. As they grow in power, however, the opportunity to influence events on a larger scale arises. Whereas once they dealt with mayors and local craft guilds, they may now deal with barons, earls, dukes, and if they are successful enough, even kings. The question for the DM, though, is how to introduce one’s party to that larger stage. 

For many campaigns, this transition is accomplished by a process of hiring up the food chain: where once the party was hired by the mayor, they are now hired by the local baron. Either because the mayor recommended them to the baron, or something they did for the mayor had consequences visible to the baron. Now, while this is a valid strategy, and one that is employed to great eect over and over again, this “book” is designed to provide the DM with an alternate approach. One in which a seemingly random encounter (from the party’s point of view) has consequences that reach beyond the party’s current sphere of influence and will drag the party, kicking and screaming if necessary, into the larger arena.

Erathagalis is not your typical beholder. Having decided to forsake his underground lair for a more naturalistic setting, Erathagalis seems to have settled in quite well. While it seems that Nature is starting to affect some changes on him, it’s equally clear that his own nature hasn’t changed, much to the PC’s woe.

Nifaraskian is a copper dragon who has secured an interesting lair. While usually sociable and decent, for obvious reason he takes poorly to intrusions into his home, particularly if those intruders come upon him on a bad day.

Having a noble patron can be a challenge at times, particularly when common sense gives way to folly. Such is the case on the eve of Duke Roderic Penowen’s wedding night, a night which may well prove to be one long remembered by those PCs unfortunate enough to find themselves involved.

The Duke has decided that for his last night as a “free man”, he will host a particularly unusual and outlandish party. All of the invited guests (all male) will be subject to a magical effect that changes their form into that of an animal of their choice for the duration of the party, to be held in the extensive gardens within his manor. A bit of harmless, albeit bizarre, fun turns dangerous, however, when an uninvited guest makes her presence known at the party.

A 15-foot-wide spillway tunnel is carved 20 feet down a steep shoreline cliff. The manmade opening sits nearly level with the water line. The ocean rises above the lip of the entry, and thick, churning water spills out of the brick-lined doorway. Thick sludge floats on the current, and green streamers of putrid moss hang from the rounded ceiling 10 feet overhead. Water marks stain the brick walls from past high tides. An iron gate designed to bar entry into the spillway lies underwater inside the entry. The smell of rot fills the tunnel mouth, and dark crusts of fungus cling to the bricks. A thick carpet of shells washed in from the ocean fills the first 20 feet of the hallway, creating a crunching carpet on the stained stone.

The PCs (all fairly low in level) confront a former hero with a questionable moral outlook in a crowded marketplace street - a situation ripe for chaos.

The Lichen Grotto encounter could be placed anywhere a DM could find imaginable. It might be as simple as a cave deep within the underdark to break from the monotony of random encounters, it might be a cave hidden in the wooded hills above a desolate farming community to give a sense of the cosmopolitan faces of evil and monsters in the world, or it might even be in the Shadowfell as a long undisturbed area not fit for human eyes. Whatever the location, the Lichen Grotto is sure to give a long session worth of fun and adventure.